Another day out

Following our trip to Cannock Chase we went for a second day trip to Blithfield Reservoir in Staffordshire.

This journey took us along slightly more testing roads then along the top of the dam to the little car park where we found a suitable space to reverse into.

There is pleasant walking by the reservoir and we found the bonus of an ice cream van!

We had taken food for a simple meal and enjoyed our day, which had also given us confidence to venture further afield.

Our next trip would be a couple of nights away to fully test everything.

First outing

     We were not immediately in a position to go away so decided to take Rocci out on a couple of day trips to acclimatise ourselves. Our first outing was to Cannock Chase. We knew that we would find easy parking at the visitor centre and would be able to have a stroll, returning to put the kettle on. As we wouldn't need much water we carried it separately rather tthan filling the onboard tank. We found good free parking on the approach road, avoiding the need to negotiate spaces on the car park.

Manoeuvring the large vehicle on the road was simple but the extra width compared to a car was a little daunting. Those big wing mirrors give a great view but extend a long way. Be sure to give cyclists and pedestrians plenty of clearance. Just as I thought I’d got the hang of it my nearside mirror “kissed” the mirror on a parked van while I was concentrating on oncoming traffic in a busy street. Fortunately there was no damage to either of us.

While on the Chase, I also found a quiet clearing used for parking and practised a bit of reversing.

Trips like this are also a great opportunity to play “Spot the rattle”. All motorhomes generate some noise from furniture and fittings, but certain common irritations can be remedied. The grill pan and oven shelves are common sources, easily fixed by wrapping in a tea towel. We also found that the shower door and bathroom door both rattled. One or two pieces of self-adhesive draught excluder fixed these or we could have used those little stick-on shock absorbers which DIY stores sell for cupboard doors.

Heavy items such as our nesting saucepans had been stored in lower cupboards (for stability and safety) and some of these required wrapping to stop them banging together. We also discovered that putting plastic containers between noisier items, and packing quite tightly, also suppressed unnecessary noise.

Oops!

Three weeks later we set off from home in a mini convoy; me towing the caravan and Ruth in the Punto. The Bailey and the Punto were handed over, final paperwork completed and the working features of Rocci were explained, all in a friendly and leisurely fashion. At this point, however, I should point out that it is very easy to forget information and that the experts don’t always cover everything which one eventually needs to know. The staff at Geoff Cox are quick to point out that they are always willing to  support and are only a phone call away - and they mean it. Some fuel had been put in, said Gaenor, but I could top up just down the road at a motorhome-friendly garage (good practice).

Off I set, feeling quite strange in the very high driving position, with Ruth following in our car. I pulled carefully into the garage and filled up, taking less fuel than expected. Gaenor had been quite generous. I paid, got into the cab, drove a few metres and stopped. The fuel gauge indicated empty and refused to move. Rocci had to go back! Gaenor was most apologetic. The gauge had worked at the pre-delivery inspection by the main Fiat agent but was clearly now stuck. We were given options, but decided to leave it with them until fixed.

To minimise inconvenience Rocci would be delivered (without charge), to our home. This was done, as promised, and the delivery driver presented us with a large bouquet of flowers and a food quality hose on a reel which I had enquired about in the showroom, but not purchased. A very nice touch from Gaenor and the team.  Rocci was on the drive and ours at last.

Rocci, here we come!

Discussions at home led us to think that a motorhome might well be the answer for us, and that we should take action sooner rather than later as the falling pound against the euro meant that new vehicles would soon be out of our budget. The CI Carioca 694 which we had looked at received  a good review in a specialist magazine, further encouraging us in that direction.

An internet search revealed a couple of unregistered  2008 models (at substantial discounts on 2008 prices). One was way down south, the other at Geoff Cox Motorhomes, Denby which is less than an hour away from us. I contacted Gaenor there and asked if we could go across to see it, explaining that we were not yet committed. Gaenor could not have been more helpful and we arranged to go across. Geoff Cox runs a family business and all are pleasant and helpful - and motorhome savvy. We were given coffee and left alone to explore the motorhome, with no pressure whatsoever. The 2008 model was only cosmetically different from the 2009 which they also had in stock (in fact we preferred the cosmetics of the 2008 model), and seemed to have almost everything we wanted; fixed double bed, bathoom with separate shower, full cooker, large fridge with separate freezer, dedicated place for LCD TV, ample storage, good sized dinette, four seatbelts, swivelling front seats and twin airbags. There was no microwave, but space was allocated and plug fitted to take one, and, most strangely, no radio (but this was no worry as I had a nearly new CD/radio with mp3 facility from my caravan and Gaenor would arrange fitting).

We got Gaenor back and asked a few pertinent questions which were fully answered, then looked at one another and nodded. If the deal was right we would buy. Besides the discount already available, we were offered a generous trade-in allowance on our Bailey Caravan, and the company being a car dealer as well, we were offered a good deal to trade in our second car, a Fiat Punto. The paperwork was completed, one or two extras added (alarm, reversing sensors, directional status aerial, Fiamma wind-out awning), and we arranged a date for pick up - three weeks later. We had bought a CI Carioca 694, henceforth to be known as Rocci. One or two more “essential extras” were arranged i.e. a pair of levelling ramps and (later) an AVtex TV/DVD Combi. We drove home excited but a little surprised. After months of deliberation we had made the change from caravanners to motorhome owners.

Decisions, decisions

We visited the NEC again in February 2009, both of us having lain awake on more than one occasion pondering the aforementioned questions (see previous post - Beginnings). Knowing that there was little new on the caravan scene, we decided to research motorhomes, particularly those with lowish fixed beds as Ruth would be unable to climb to an overbed or even a high rear bed. One or two van conversions such as the Adria Twin might do, but having been used to quite a large caravan, we yearned for the spaciousness afforded by the coachbuilt vehicles. 
A model from Bürstner seemed to fit the bill, as well as duplicated offerings from CI Motorhomes and Roller Team (which have the same manufacturer). The Burstner looked classy and was on a Transit base, but the CI seemed better value for money, having similar features at a lower price, on a Fiat chassis with a more powerful 130bhp engine. It also had twin airbags, which were extra or unavailable on many other models, but which for us were an essential safety feature. A bonus for an imported vehicle was that the habitation door was on the “correct” side. We were tempted but declined any offers, deciding to go home and have a real think. It would also give me time to do some more research. 
After all, there was no rush - or was there?

Beginnings

Ruth and I have enjoyed camping since our youth. We have “graduated” from small tents to frame tent, then trailer tent (Conway) to folder (Dandy 6 Berth). In 1991 we visited a dealer to replace a lost picnic cup and came away with our first caravan (Ace Globetrotter XL), eventually replacing that in 2004 with a Bailey Ranger 510/4. We have thoroughly enjoyed all our camping experiences, both at home and abroad, and have, since our first visit in the ‘80’s, experienced a love affair with the Scottish Highlands.

In Autumn 2008 we visited the show at the NEC, Birmingham, to see what new caravan layouts were available to us when we eventually changed ours. We were particularly interested in fixed bed models. However, by a strange quirk of fate we entered the halls via the Motorhome section and casually drifted around amongst the models on show. Timberland were showing a very swish panel van conversion with seemingly everything fitted in a relatively small space. Real class, but I almost fell off the comfortable bench seat when the price was declared to be £55k! And nowhere near as much space as our Bailey with its luxurious end bathroom.

However, we were suddenly interested – would a motorhome be a realistic proposition? Would we use it more than the caravan? I have always been relaxed about towing but we rarely used the Bailey for those impromptu “one or two nights away” that we had always promised ourselves. We drifted around the stands, leaving little time for our original aim – to view potential fixed bed caravan layouts. 
When we did get to the caravans we were a little disappointed that ‘vans just seemed to be getting heavier without much real innovation, and we went home having bought a new eco friendly groundsheet for under our Fiamma Caravanstore awning, firmly resolved to hang onto our Bailey for a little while yet.